Swarland Village Action Group Committee:

Chairman: Neil Mansfield, Secretary / Editor: Bryan Stanley. Treasurer: Susan Richardson. Committee Members: Robert & Sue Brotherton, John Richardson, The Column Suzanne Stanley, Caroline Thomas.

Write it Down Now !!!

Please supply information to the Editor for inclusion in the April issue by Thursday 26th March 2021.

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The cost of production of this issue of

The Column has been met by

Newton on the Moor & Swarland Parish Council and Swarland Club

The Club provides a newspaper service for our area. All daily newspapers are catered for along with the sale of bread, eggs and milk.

This service is currently open February 2021 from 7.30 to 10am every day

Newspapers and magazines may be ordered and reserved.

Call, Text or WhatsApp Louise on 07502 477 734, Produced by Find us on Facebook (Swarland WMC Paper Shop), or phone SWM Club on 01670 787 825. Swarland Village Action The Post Office is now back again providing its

Monday and Thursday service from 8 – 10.30am.

Newsletter 111

SWARLAND VILLAGE WORKING MEN’S CLUB

Tel. 01670 787 825 Parish Litter Pick is booked for Sunday Swarland Club is pleased to sponsor The Column. st 21 March. To join in, see inside for details. Printed by NCC Communities Together Scheme

Neighbourhood Watch Update – January 2021 Welcome to your latest issue of The Column and if you’re new to the area, a special welcome to you. To include something, however small, in the April Swarland / : issue, please supply it for inclusion by Thursday 26th March. Send it to: The Editor, Bryan Stanley, on 01670 787 916 or by email at Yet again I am pleased to say that our area is a relatively safe place to live. [email protected] . Here is the only piece of vaguely local police news we’ve had: With the continued Covid-19 situation, we are still unable to use our usual 05/01/21: "We are aware that fraudsters claiming to be officers from our printer, Community Enterprise Ltd (NCE Ltd) at Stobhill. But, Force and National Crime Agency, have been cold calling people asking once more, rather than just issuing The Column on-line, the NCC Communities them to purchase Google Play cards. Please be aware of this, as well as Together Scheme is again printing it for us. Thanks to Ruth Armstrong for another scam below. organising this. Scammers have been reportedly calling people purporting to be law enforcement officers and claiming there are issues with the would-be Swarland Village Action victim's National Insurance Number. If you receive a call like this, do not transfer any money, give any personal details or purchase any type of We wish to thank the following: Andrew and Lyn Hastie for decorating and vouchers. Hang up and report suspected fraudsters to:- Action Fraud on dismantling the Christmas tree this year, Greg Anderson and the Bockenfield 0300 123 2040,or on line here:- https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ .“ delivery lads for erecting the tree. Hopefully the tree brought some cheer to what had been a stressful year for everyone. Sadly, we were unable to have If residents have information on any crime, please report this via the Chester Bears, our most important helpers, due to the Covid-19 restrictions. following numbers: Emergency issues 999, non emergency issues This was the first time for a number of years they weren’t able to keep up this Tel. 101. To contact Police, phone 101 ext 61353, e-mail tradition, hopefully in 2021 they will be back, we missed them greatly. .npt.northumbria.pnn.police.uk , or call in at the office in the Susan Richardson on behalf of the SVA team Coquetdale Centre, Church Street, Rothbury. If the office is unattended please use the yellow phone on the wall and an officer will be able to assist with your enquiry. Loss of an old member of the SVA team David and Wilha Bradbrook spent many years in Swarland (1978-2018) and NW Co-ordinator, Harold Hinchliffe, 2 Nile Drive, Swarland. took part in a great many activities in the area before moving away to be with Tel.01670 783 669 or Mob.07713 097 250 family members. I have just received the following news from Serena Boyce

(David & Wilha’s daughter): Mike Sargent available for handyman jobs “It is with great sadness that [we must announce] that our beloved dad has in Swarland and Newton on the Moor. passed away. As some of you may know, his dementias were progressing but Available evenings and weekends. he sadly tested positive for Covid a fortnight ago and after a period of being Please call 07876 471 608 asymptomatic for 10 days contracted pneumonia on Wednesday and was admitted into West Suffolk Hospital the following day. He slipped away rd peacefully on Saturday [23 January] and we feel relieved that his suffering was not prolonged and his increasing mental anguish has now come to an end.” Covid-19 Face Mask Maker

Wilha is still in residential care having developed dementia before they left I am still making face masks. Masks are 3 layers Swarland. Though David was a quiet and reserved man they had many friends thick and come with an optional filter pocket. They in the area and he was on the SVA team until shortly before they moved away. are made to measure and there is a choice of Ed. fabrics.

They are £8 each and can be collected from The Mobile Library Dates Square, Swarland, or posted out for an additional £1. Unlike some other NCC Library services, at the moment the Mobile Library If you would like to order please Service is still temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There call Anna on 07549 537 457. are currently 6 Libraries open for the 'select & collect' service and there’ll soon be 'doorstep deliveries' for some customers. Please check NCC’s website for information at northumberland.spydus.co.uk/cgi- Deadline for items for the April issue of bin/spydus.exe/msgtrn/wpac/home . In the meantime, some customers may th also want to use Digital Library Services which is also available 24/7. Let’s The Column: Thursday 26 March 2021. hope that eventually we will get our mobile service back and that we won’t lose it permanently.

Support for Newton on the Moor and Swarland Residents NotM & Swarland Parish Council

We are again in the middle of another national lockdown, and recently Because of the current Coronavirus emergency, the Parish Council (PC) met nearby Alnwick has been the ward with the highest number of Covid cases on 27th January via Zoom. Anyone who wishes to attend future meetings in Northumberland – thankfully numbers are now reducing. I’d like to remind would be very welcome and can ask questions. Just contact the Clerk for readers of the Column that 45 residents in the Parish have volunteered to joining details. help out their neighbours living within the Parish during the Coronavirus Parish Litter-Pick Emergency. st The annual community litter pick will be taking place on Sunday 21 March. In our Parish, we have a population of about 905 in around 410 houses, and The usual arrangements will apply. Convene at Swarland Square at 10am. many are elderly and / or living alone. Vaccinations are being rolled out, but Gloves, hand-operated picker tools and bags will be provided, along with residents still have to comply with lockdown conditions. Volunteers are there hand-sanitiser. This event will be compliant with the current Covid-19 to help you if you are vulnerable through ill health or age, and don’t have regulations, but please exercise additional care and social distancing at the anyone else to help you. The sort of support we can provide at the moment start, when volunteers are gathered together. is as follows: Hazon Road Improvements • Daily Phone calls to check you are well and not needing help After months of liaising with NCC, and after various site meetings, we are • Phone calls for a chat delighted to report that works have started to improve the drainage and road • Collection of prescriptions resurfacing in Hazon.

• Collection/delivery of food. Newton on the Moor Bus Shelter

If you need help, email (if possible) [email protected] or The bus shelter opposite the Cook & Barker has been showing signs of telephone 07775 060 430 during office hours preferably. neglect for a number of years. We were therefore very pleased to see that some community-spirited local residents spontaneously undertook a make- The Parish Council website is being revised frequently and added to with over, during the Christmas period. Some of the timber has been replaced, information relating to services available across our Parish: at the broken glazing removed and all woodwork given a fresh coat of paint. newtononthemoorandswarlandparishcouncil.org.uk/ . Thanks, and well done! Next step to get a full bus service back! NCC has a very useful page of information including a daily update of infections in each ward, at northumberland.gov.uk . Improvements to Broadband Speeds Complaints have been received about slow Broadband speeds in various Best wishes, Jan Anderson (Parish Clerk) parts of the Parish. iNorthumberland (NCC’s ICT connectivity team) has provided some suggestions on possible improvements and the availability of Swarland Village Hall funding schemes such as the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme and Top Up

The Hall, which is run as a community facility (Reg. Charity No 1058471), Vouchers. We encourage all residents to check their Broadband speed from has again had to close completely, following the Government’s latest Covid- time to time. If you are interested in joining with others to explore a possible 19 restrictions. However, it is hoped that some activities, might be able to upgrade project, please contact the Clerk, giving details of your location and typical broadband speeds. restart sometime soon.

You can now support the Village Hall through AmazonSmile. To help fund Funding for Road Safety Measures the Hall, before you do any browsing or shopping via Amazon, you first need County Cllr Thorne has confirmed an allocation of £10,000 from NCC funds to select SVH charity (No 1058471) at smile.amazon.co.uk, then activate for traffic calming measures in Swarland and Newton on the Moor. Details of AmazonSmile on your Amazon shopping app on your IOS or Android phone. the measures are currently being worked on by the Parish Council.

Then whenever you buy anything via Amazon, it will donate 0.5% of the net New Quarry North of Shiel Dykes purchase price of eligible purchases to the charity at no cost to you. Every The planning application for the quarry has not yet been determined. The quarter Amazon will make its donation to SVH via an electronic funds Environment Agency and Highways have raised a number of transfer. Why not carry on with your shopping AND help Swarland Village concerns regarding groundwater pollution, methane gas, HGV movements Hall at the same time. Thank you. and vehicular access. Details can be seen on NCC’s planning portal using If you wish to check on whether you can book the Hall for a future event Reference 20/02884/CCMEIA. please contact Bryan Stanley (see elsewhere) or Steve Woolfrey Parish Council Vacancies ([email protected] or 01670 787 883 ). (Cont overleaf)

Parish Council Vacancies Where can we go for some exercise? Unless the Government decides to postpone them, there will be elections on Thursday 6th May for the Parish Council, the County Council, and the Are you fed-up with doing the same old walks? Perhaps “Walking in Police Crime Commissioner. There are 10 places on the Parish Council, Northumberland” at www.walkinginengland.co.uk/northumberland is the website for you! and we are keen to see a good spread and cross-section of councilors, from across our parish area. Details of our Parish Council, and how to With hundreds of walks to download and print, free, it also has books of stand as a candidate, are available from our Clerk. walks, contact details for all the walking groups in the county and much

Contact the Parish Clerk – Jan Anderson on 07775 060 430 or more. Whether you want to walk on your own or with a group, all the [email protected] . information is there in one place.

PC Website: newtononthemoorandswarlandparishcouncil.org.uk/ . The compiler says “There is so much walking information on the web but it is difficult to find. Walking in Northumberland (part of the Walking in Swarland Moor Local Heritage Group England suite of websites – one for each county in England) has brought it

At our next meeting on Tuesday 9th February at 7.30pm we will welcome together in one place so whether you are walking from home, or away on holiday, you will be able to find a walk suitable for you”. back Dr Jessica Turner. You with recall that she previously gave us an excellent talk on The Ossuary at Bamburgh. This time Jessica will talk With walks from half-a-mile to 12-plus miles long, and a note of suitability about excavations on “The Heugh on Holy Island”. You will know the for pushchairs and wheelchairs, everyone can find a walk to enjoy. Heugh as the rock intrusion that rises above the Priory on the south side of So, home or away, check out the websites and get walking! Holy Island. It is scattered with buildings and archaeological sites, but the form, function and dates of these features have not been properly John Harris. Check it out at: investigated. In 2017 & 2018 a community archaeological project www.walkinginengland.co.uk or email: [email protected] . attempted to answer some of these long-held questions. This talk is an exploration of Heugh together with the finds from the recent archaeological excavations. Swarland Primary School News

As with previous talks, this presentation will be online using Zoom. The Thank you very much to all the local residents meeting link will be sent out to members next week. who have kindly donated their old laptops to

Any guests wishing to join us for this talk, please send an email to support our school children who are remote [email protected] and we will send you the necessary joining learning at home. Your kindness and generosity instructions. Also, don't forget to check on our Facebook site for updates is very much appreciated and highlights the and more news. wonderful community spirit of Swarland residents. Thank you very much. Anyone interested in becoming a Member please contact us on the email address or 01670 787 654. Lesley Louise Fletcher, Headteacher, Swarland Primary School White Fresh Fish and Seafood Recycling, Wants & For Sale Corner D R Collin’s excellent fresh fish deliveries are still being made to Swarland Why not recycle your unwanted items through The Column? Recipients of each Wednesday. Please note that the time is now 3.30pm (not free items can make a donation towards this newsletter’s running costs. 4.00pm). Unfortunately, though the fishmonger covers the Felton and Items for sale? – If successful, the seller can make a similar donation. Swarland area she does not go to Newton on the Moor as well, so NotM

Growing Grandchildren? Most of ours are now too large for our world- residents will need to come to Swarland between 3.30 and 4pm. Please class collection of child car-seats. Please, we need the space in our loft! try and support her. We have available one Pampero Isofix 9-18 Kg seat in blue, and one Cuggl Universal Type F10 15-36 Kg seat. These have been used for Deadline for items for the April issue of short periods, not subject to any collisions or child car sickness and are The Column: Thursday 26th March 2021. £10 each. More car seats and booster seats available later, these can be reserved or borrowed for the rest of the winter. Contact Alison Gallico 01665 581 173.

Latest Scamming Alert Good News from Lower Coquetdale Red Squirrel Group

The Police have asked the Parish Council to let parishioners about a new Happy New Year from the Lower Coquetdale Red Squirrel group. range of scams. We are all acutely aware of how dangerous a virus can be. The Grey “We are aware that fraudsters claiming to be officers from our Force and Squirrel, introduced into the UK in the 1870s from Eastern North America, the National Crime Agency have been cold-calling people, asking them to carries a virus which is lethal to our native Red Squirrels. Reds die within purchase Google Play cards. 15 days of the virus being passed to them, but the virus does not affect

Also scammers have been reportedly calling people, purporting to be law the Greys. The Red Squirrel has been wiped out from most of England, enforcement and claiming there are issues with their would-be victims’ with just some very small colonies now remaining. We are extremely National Insurance number. If you receive a call like this, do not transfer fortunate in that some of the remaining Red Squirrels live locally to any money, give any personal details, or purchase any type of vouchers. Swarland and Newton on the Moor. We are also fortunate in that as far as we’re aware none of our local Reds contracted squirrel pox in 2020, Ask for an incident number and hang up. When you are sure the line is though sadly there were two cases reported in Upper Coquetdale. cleared, check this with us by calling 101 or using our online reporting procedure. We are hopeful (increasingly confident) that 2021 will be a very successful year for our local Reds. The Squirrel Group continues to Remember, your bank and the police will never: successfully control Greys in our woods, thus releasing more habitat for • Ask you to transfer money out of your account our Reds to expand into. We know that a small number of adult Reds • Ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them for safe-keeping successfully raised some kittens last year. With local woods becoming • Send someone to your home to collect cash, PINs, cards, vouchers available to them, these kittens, and those born in the spring, stand an or cheque books excellent chance of survival. It’s not too many years ago that Red • Phone and ask you for your full PIN or full banking password. Squirrels were regularly seen in our area. With continued hard work, and You can report suspected fraudsters to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, a little luck, it may not be too many years before they are back! You can or online at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ . help this happen by reporting any squirrels you see, Red or Grey, on our website www.lcreds.org.uk. Or, you could join the LCReds group and get involved with our preservation work. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Here’s to a better 2021! Christmas Cake Sale at Jubilee Hall, Newton on the Moor Lower Coquetdale Red Squirrel Group.

A big ‘Thank You’ to all those who supported our Christmas Takeaway ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ cake service - it was hugely successful and the proceeds will help our heating and other running costs through the winter. Advert Government restrictions permitting, we very much hope to hold another th takeaway cake event on Saturday 13 March, for Mothering Sunday, selling pre-ordered cakes and scones only. A menu will be posted on Pest Management Services our face-book page ten days in advance, together with instructions for ordering. Fully licensed and insured

Facebook address: www.facebook.com/notmyvillagehall/ . Moles, Rodents, Rabbits, Wasps and other insects. Alison Gallico Contact Rory Brotherton ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 01670 788 174 or 07769 176 666

Deadline for items for the April issue of The Column: Thursday 26th March 2021. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Felton Surgery News All 12 practices within our network have been working exceptionally hard and within short timescales to book appointments for our patients. Every Our telephone lines (01670 787 353) are open Monday – Friday appointment has been booked by telephone call with practice teams across 08.30 – 18.00. the network. Due to higher than normal call volumes to the surgery it may take longer than normal for your call to be answered. You will be advised of your position in the Please do not contact your practice about the vaccine. This helps to keep phone lines clear and allows practice teams to continue to provide care for queue. Please note the surgery building remains open for the collection patients who need it most. We are using the same members of the team of medication from the dispensary. We operate a one-in and one-out who would usually answer your calls and we thank you for giving us the system. Monday - Friday 08.30 – 13.00 / 14.00-18.00 time we need to do this. Ordering Repeat Medication We will continue to contact patients when it is time for them to have their Please, wherever possible, order your repeat medications online through the vaccine - There are national guidelines in place which prioritise the order in NHS App. Owned and run by the NHS, the NHS App is a simple and secure which we call patients for their vaccinations. Please check NHS and way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet. The NHS government websites for the latest news Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine App is available now on iOS and Android. To use it you must be aged 13 or - NHS (www.nhs.uk) . over and registered with a GP surgery in England. You can also access the NHS app services from the browser on your desktop or laptop computer. Our staff will be working at the hub site, as a result of which there is likely Use the NHS App to: to be reduced or limited capacity for routine appointments if you contact your surgery. • Get advice about coronavirus – get information about coronavirus and find Felton’s Hub Site Location is Amble Health Centre – Amble. Please do not out what to do if you think you have it. arrive without an appointment and please don’t turn up more than five • Order repeat prescriptions - see your available medicines, request a new minutes early to your appointment – space is limited, it’s very cold, we repeat prescription and choose a pharmacy for your prescriptions to be sent to. don’t want our patients waiting unnecessarily and have a plan to move • Book appointments - search for, book and cancel appointments at your GP people through the vaccine sites in a systematic and safe way. surgery, and see details of your upcoming and past appointments. Thank you for reading, please pass to anyone you think may be interested, • Get health advice - search trusted NHS information and advice on hundreds please don’t call the NHS for your vaccine – we WILL be in touch. of conditions and treatments, and get instant advice or medical help near you. Latest News from Felton Surgery • View your medical record - securely access your GP medical record, to see The current Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for us all and information such as your allergies and your current and past medicines. we wanted to reiterate that our utmost priority has been in making sure that • Register your organ donation decision - choose to donate some or all of our patients and staff are safe. It is essential that we continue to follow your organs and check your registered decision. government guidelines. Whilst we have continued to be open, we realise How to contact us and get the help you need that there has been a real change in the way you now access your care As a result of Covid-19, the way patients are accessing our GP practice has had and treatment. We have been working hard to maintain access to to continue to change. Whilst we appreciate that this can be confusing and appointments and we wanted to thank all of our patients for their patience unsettling at times, we need to make sure that all our patients and staff are kept and understanding during this time. We really appreciate your continued safe. Before contacting your GP you may wish to consult your pharmacist or support and positive comments, especially when having to attend Widdrington Surgery for face-to-face appointments. use the symptom checker on the NHS app.

Flu Vaccination Appointments for over-50’s New Premises Appointments are still available to book, please contact the surgery by phone to You may be wondering what is happening about the Felton surgery move. make your appointment, or by e-Consult to request an appointment through the Please be assured that there is work happening behind the scenes to Administrative Help link. make progress with this. We are working closely with both the Parish This is offered free of charge on the NHS to people who are at risk. This is to Council and Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group and we can help protect them against catching flu and developing serious complications. tell you that positive steps are being made. We will update you all as soon as we can. Covid Vaccines – Update from Well Up North Primary Care Network We know that this year has been a particularly tough one for everyone as

Felton Surgery is part of the Well Up North Primary Care Network. We are we all learn to live with Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and it is great news that pleased to confirm that we began offering Covid Vaccinations to our patients in there are now three approved vaccines, two of which are being used to December. vaccinate our most vulnerable patients.